Annual Report, 2002-2003

Our Founding

August 21, 2003 -- In March of
2002 Louis Rosenfeld and Christina Wodtke invited a group of people to
discuss how to advance the field of information architecture (IA). One
previous effort, ACIA,
provided valuable information but was too closely paired to a
commercial company to be sustainable. Another, Info-Arch.org, generated many
grass-roots ideas but few concrete results. The new group was large enough
to represent diverse opinions yet small enough to stay focused on the
task. After eight months of online discussions, phone calls, and a
meeting at the Asilomar
Conference Grounds in California, the idea of the Asilomar
Institute for Information Architecture (AIfIA) was born.

Mission and Goals

AIfIA launched in November, 2002 and was soon incorporated and
granted non-profit tax status. Our mission is to

...advance the design of shared information environments.
We support a global community infrastructure that connects people,
ideas, content, and tools. Through research, education, advocacy and
community service, we promote excellence within our field and build
bridges to related disciplines and organizations.

Out of this mission emerged more immediate goals which act as
criteria to decide which projects to pursue during the Institute's
first year:

Advance the field of information architecture

Provide value to members in their practice of IA

Create sustainable infrastructure & operations to support these goals

Members and Projects

With only a foundation of the Institute in place, 163 charter
members joined us in the first week. These members represented 120
organizations in 13 countries. By August of 2003, there were over 400
members from 26 countries. It is these early members, as well as
support from others, who
have worked to make progress on our first projects, including:

AIfIA Translations,
translating Information Architecture articles into a number of
languages

Finances

AIfIA's financial position is squarely in the black, and we are
well-positioned to support AIfIA initiatives and maintain AIfIA
infrastructure in the coming year.

Background

Seed loans from AIfIA founders covered significant start-up and
infrastructure expenses, enabling AIfIA to achieve 501c6 status and
establish bylaws and finances with professional assistance by the end
of 2002. Thanks to the growing interest and generosity of the
information architecture community, membership dues have constituted
the greatest portion of income. Other major sources of revenue include
a seminar taught at the IA Summit by AIfIA volunteers, and the
conversion of a significant portion of founder loans to donations,
especially impressive considering donations to 501c6 organizations are
not tax-deductible.

Organizational Structure

During our first growing year we recognized the shortcomings in our
leadership structure. With a revision to our bylaws in July we reframed
the Leadership Council as an Advisory Board appointed by the Board of
Directors, providing AIfIA with a more traditional, more streamlined
governance model.

Thank You

This short report cannot adequately recognize all those who helped
make AIfIA's first year a success. Our heartfelt thanks go out to
everyone who has contributed in even the smallest way. We look forward
to furthering our mission together in the years to come.